After battling 30 MPH headwinds (getting passed by traffic, reminded me of the ultralight days) coming back from Montana yesterday I stopped by Joel Milloway's shop in Blackfoot to pick up a few gallons. As usual he had something new to look at, this time a prototype pod. This one was glass, the production model will be CF. The nose cone is a standard spinner, no use re inventing the wheel. It will be secured with two snap clamps and be sealed via an O-ring for waterproof storage. A yet to be installed glass flange will mount aluminum channel in such a way that the pod will be able to quickly come off and on the jury struts via pip pins. For the belt and suspenders crowd, castellated nuts could be used. They will have a handle, so after you land behind the motel, you can walk around to the front and check in carrying them like Samsonite

Painting them to match the paint scheme of the plane is a given. Putting fins and a little whip antenna on them to make them look like some kind of guided smart bomb would be optional. Using a single one as a belly pod is being explored. Depending on the days mission, one on the belly or two on the wings, all with common hardware, is a possibility. It looks like I may be doing some flight testing, I'll report back on that. Bearhawks are out of luck, you need two lift struts, plus you already have plenty of room. The target customer base is anything experimental and with two lift struts, and with too much crap to fit inside the plane. My first thought was, clean clothes in one pod, dirty in the other. No more stuffing the sleeping bag in a stuff sack, just pod it. Light but bulky items would be the key I think.

Bearhawks are out of luck, you need two lift struts, plus you already have plenty of room. The target customer base is anything experimental and with two lift struts, and with too much crap to fit inside the plane.

Ahh, you dashed my hopes! You can never have too much room...

Be great for bear spray, 1-lb propane bottles, or anything else I'd prefer not to have in the cabin.

Then I began thinking about an in-flight cabin release; the possibilities are endless with that!

Those are cool!

blackrock wrote:
Then I began thinking about an in-flight cabin release; the possibilities are endless with that!

Haha - my first thought too - looks like a drop tank! I'll say no more

Hmmm, looks like a fast track to a cavity search packing one of those across the tarmac.

probably could rig up hard points for the bearhawks

Av8r3400 wrote:http://www.uflyit.com/cargo_pods.htm

That looks like the belly pod that Dan Denny made for the Kitfox back in the day, similar proportions anyway. Nicely done and at a fair price.

These Milloway pods are more then twice as large, 60"+ long, and really have some substantial interior volume. Their overall shape, their fineness ratio (I think I have that right, check with Barnaby Wainfain, love that guy) is closer to the ideal streamline shape. We talked about the cubic inches capable of being carried, and the math to figure that out is beyond me anyway. So, we quickly moved on to the concept of simply filling it with water and then converting the total gallons to cubic inches.

I've toyed with the idea of a belly lumber rack for my S-7S for some time, a light framework hanging off the gear fittings and the float bushings, quickly removable, that would work like the rack on my flatbed, but upside down. It would be easy enough to have a system where one day you could hang a fuel pod under it, the next day a luggage pod, the next (in my case) a solar panel for delivery. A multi purpose rack in other words. These pods are so large I am personally more interested in a single one for the belly, I don't have that much crap to carry to need two.

I for sure would lean towards the side door, in addition to the removable nose cone. I could see the clean socks I want being at the opposite end of the nose opening and having to drag everything out to get to them. More doors mean a little weight and complexity but it'd be worth it.

Looks like a great way to carry a keg of beer into the backcountry. The airflow up high would keep things nice and cool, too.

Having just camped out last weekend, I can see them as a time saver. No more putting the tent, sleeping bag, mattress pad etc. in their individual stuff sacks and then arranging them in the baggage compartment. Just stuff everything directly in the pod, and leave the stuff sacks at home. This would leave more room in the main baggage area of a small plane, and that is where the extra beer could go.

The other thing I didn't mention: the possibility exists that Joel will engineer a framework that will convert 2 pods into......wait for it......a pontoon rowboat! Perfect for the fisher person who is hard up for space, talk about killing two birds.

Putting fins of any kind on that is a mag-lev fast track to some formation flight practice with a TSA Blackhawk.

I would paint "Bob'sLo-DragBaggagePods.com" in great big red letters on it myself

Any possibility of adding an area for some extra fuel? Looks like it would make a nice ferry tank.
Pete

That hasn't been discussed as far as I know. I see it more of a good thing for those bulky but light items that take up valuable real estate in the main baggage area. Then again, being experimental, anything is possible

I was back over there today, and later kicked myself for not bringing my sleeping bag and other camping gear, I had it all laying out in the hangar already from my weekend trip. I'd like to load it up for real and see much how it holds.

We played around with using one as a belly pod, not enough ground clearance for my tastes, I'd high center it, though it would work, for a while. Note the Swiss muffler laying on the ground, I took it off in about 2 minutes, as it normally runs down the centerline. If I had a belly pod I realized I could still use the SM, I'd just run it alongside to the side of the cabane, under the gear leg.

Though now... that I'm looking at this picture, along with you all, it doesn't look too bad. The side door concept would be the way to go if used like this, as the nose would be up as close as possible to the cabane.


Zipper BigBore guru Hal Stockman was also in town. That's a complete Zipped Rotax 912S in the back seat, being delivered to Montana!

Hey Courierguy and all

I'm liking your pod concepts there. I thought for interest sake i'd post a few pics of a cargo pod i developed for a friend and his S7 over here in NZ for your perusal and ideas maybe. It is constructed of hand laid carbon fibre with a clear gelcoat to give it the look! weighs in at 18lbs and has stainless steel fittings. Two cargo doors, fitted with zeus fasteners and piano hinges, one on the side and one aft for longer items like camp chairs etc (although they would still fit through the side door!) We had some cargo nets made up that prevent load movement and you can connect/ fit stretch netting over too, for added security. Was designed specifically to fit to the Rans S7 with the Roberts bush gear as you can see. Let me know if its of any help! feel free to fire some questions if wanted.

I've got a cargo pod for 182 in hanger -never been on my airplane. It's good for 80 LBS -long and only 10 inches deep . STC'd for wide body (after 63 ) 182's I'd part with for 2500 bucks . Have brackets for mounting ,paperwork etc. Send me direct [email protected] for pictures or text to 702-581-2022 with your phone number .

pilatuski wrote:Hey Courierguy and all

I'm liking your pod concepts there. I thought for interest sake i'd post a few pics of a cargo pod i developed for a friend and his S7 over here in NZ for your perusal and ideas maybe. It is constructed of hand laid carbon fibre with a clear gelcoat to give it the look! weighs in at 18lbs and has stainless steel fittings. Two cargo doors, fitted with zeus fasteners and piano hinges, one on the side and one aft for longer items like camp chairs etc (although they would still fit through the side door!) We had some cargo nets made up that prevent load movement and you can connect/ fit stretch netting over too, for added security. Was designed specifically to fit to the Rans S7 with the Roberts bush gear as you can see. Let me know if its of any help! feel free to fire some questions if wanted.

It's fair to say there's a fair bit of interest in Pods for the Bearhawk at the moment. I'm still not 100% how it can be done, and if the CG advantages are there (or not).

How does it attach at the back and front? Details... photos?

What are the development costs for the mould like? All up cost for a one-off like that must be huge?

I presume it's a prohibitive cost, unless you can sell a whole pile of them, as I don't see many one-off pods. Shame we're in NZ and all the other BHs are in North America. I estimate shipping a complete Pod to the USA would run about a grand, unless you can stack them together and save space (via shipping container).

Edit: In fact I just ran the numbers, you would be able to carry about an extra 25kg (55lbs) using such a pod in a Bearhawk, with 4 heavy men aboard. But still the problem is CoG location, not gross weight.

Not too many 4 places which can really take 4 adult men and a tonne of gear, plus full fuel. The advertising claim of "CARRY FOUR PEOPLE, FULL FUEL, AND 250 LBS" is not talking about 4 adult men. It has the useful load, but you'd need the 250lbs spread with 150lbs stacked in the back seat, and 100lbs in the cargo area...

Pilatuski- your pod looks awesome! How many layers of carbon did you use? Is it just carbon or did you utilize a core? I am finishing a mold for a pod on my rans right now and yours looks great. I am planning on using minimal hardware for my doors on it and will probably use a fabric hinge instead of laminating stainless. Mine is about 5' long and the width of the fuselage. Did you mount yours to the interior tubing and existing rear float fittings? Thanks for sharing

[quote="pilatuski"]Hey Courierguy and all

I'm liking your pod concepts there. I thought for interest sake i'd post a few pics of a cargo pod i developed for a friend and his S7 over here in NZ for your perusal and ideas maybe. It is constructed of hand laid carbon fibre with a clear gelcoat to give it the look! weighs in at 18lbs and has stainless steel fittings. Two cargo doors, fitted with zeus fasteners and piano hinges, one on the side and one aft for longer items like camp chairs etc (although they would still fit through the side door!) We had some cargo nets made up that prevent load movement and you can connect/ fit stretch netting over too, for added security. Was designed specifically to fit to the Rans S7 with the Roberts bush gear as you can see. Let me know if its of any help! feel free to fire some questions if wanted.


COURIERGUY WANTS! Sort of.....
That looks great, REALLY good, but where does my Swiss Muffler go? I am loath to give it up, especially as I just won the quietest airplane award at the JC gathering, or at least I would have if they had an award for that, according to unsolicited comments. Nonetheless, if you plan to be by Inkom anytime soon, maybe we can work something out, that is one bitching belly pod! You'd have a decent market over here but I'm not sure about the shipping costs, well actually I am, it'd be mucho grande I'm thinking.

I have figured a way I can keep the SM by offsetting it to one side, if I mount a single Milloway bomb in the center. I really don't have an urgent need for more baggage area, at least as much as a full belly pod like yours or two wing strut pods (I don't think using just one would be a good idea, then again I've carried draggy external loads on one wing and really couldn't tell, and Joel's pod is super clean) so now I am thinking one of his center mounted. I believe his next move (he always has lots of irons in the fire) is to engineer the attach flange/points, and hopefully whatever he comes up with for that I can adapt for my belly.

Ask your friend with the tricked out S-7 if he got the idea for fairing his cabane from me, or thought of it himself, good to see anyway I'm not the only one to think it sure can't hurt to get rid of a couple feet of round tube

Does your buddy notice any adverse flying characteristics with the bellypod? I built one out of a hunter sled. I used piano hinge and a couple farm pins that run through the rear floor boards...
It flew terribly. It was cross country worthy after I faired the aft into a teardrop. It still lost some nimbleness kind of like going from 26" tires to 29"ers. The thing must have cost me at least $22. The best part was not smelling fuel cans in the cargo area which Joel has fixed here it appears.

Oregon180 wrote:Looks like a great way to carry a keg of beer into the backcountry. The airflow up high would keep things nice and cool, too.

that's been done..

http://www.427squadron.com/history/stor ... tfire.html